Royal Princess Travel Debacle

[Brian Raine]

Live from RP, finally over the trauma of the ghastly flight from Miami.The saga is fit for a Viking Saga, all to the detriment of Princess Cruises and OMNI airlines, now chritened OMINOUS airlines.The original flight was scheduled for 1230 Monday. after arriving at the terminal at 0730 we thought everything was fine. Ay noon we were told a one hour delay was expected, at 1430 the flight was concelled until sometime Tuesday. After 2 hours awaiting for luggage we then coralled to await Princess allocation of Hotels for the night all 380 of us.Eventuall we arrived at the Sherato Miami Market to be advise a voucher for $15.to cover dinner and breakfast , would be given out. A dinnerv buffet was in excess of $20, icluding the ubiquitous gtauity,the balance to be paid by us.Later that evening Princess reps told us the flight was now 0730 Tuesday morning, roundup was at 0400, NO BREAKFAST.After checking in we actullay boarded at 0745, the flight was delayed until 0830 due to late slow luggage loadind. Away we went, with a cold croissant and coffee supplied by Omni. Lunch arrived at 1130,everything was hunkt dory, the Amazon arrived under our wing but aftrer about 1 houe we climbed and headed NORTH. At 1420 we landed in BOA VISTA.During our flight the captain was unable to tell us what was going on as the in cabin PA had failed.The cabin crew did not know where we were.Inomimg flights had preference sowe had to wait for 4 HOURS. The first 2 hours were onboard , we were not allowed off. The doors were oppened , it was 91 degrees F outside. After 2 hours we were allowed out into the terminal, here we could buy local hamburghers as the plane had no food left.We were airbourne at 1830 for a 1 hour flight to Manaus We eventually arrived at 1945, luggage collection was chaotic.Brazilian officials allowed Princess personnel to check us in with minimal formalities.On the ship we were no given any sustance, only told the buffet was still open.

During the flight .the OMNI flight mechanic told us the reason for the delay was (a) the crew had no flying time left and requirean 8 hour break (b) the cabin crew had no Brazillian visas. one abject upcock from day one.

On board we were told that as a sop to the delayed passengers. Scarborough would be missed out and we would spend WEDNESDAY in MANAUS, plus ALL passengers would receive $250 obc.Delayed passengers would get a pro rata return of their criuse fare from their TA.

Personally I would be very laothed to travel with Princess ever again evwen if we are Platinum Captains Circle members.

[dforeigner]

Man, what an ordeal.

[mii]

All you can really say is "Wow".

 

Marilyn

[JLC@SD]

Live from RP, finally over the trauma of the ghastly flight from Miami.The saga is fit for a Viking Saga, all to the detriment of Princess Cruises and OMNI airlines, now chritened OMINOUS airlines.The original flight was scheduled for 1230 Monday. after arriving at the terminal at 0730 we thought everything was fine. Ay noon we were told a one hour delay was expected, at 1430 the flight was concelled until sometime Tuesday. After 2 hours awaiting for luggage we then coralled to await Princess allocation of Hotels for the night all 380 of us.Eventuall we arrived at the Sherato Miami Market to be advise a voucher for $15.to cover dinner and breakfast , would be given out. A dinnerv buffet was in excess of $20, icluding the ubiquitous gtauity,the balance to be paid by us.Later that evening Princess reps told us the flight was now 0730 Tuesday morning, roundup was at 0400, NO BREAKFAST.After checking in we actullay boarded at 0745, the flight was delayed until 0830 due to late slow luggage loadind. Away we went, with a cold croissant and coffee supplied by Omni. Lunch arrived at 1130,everything was hunkt dory, the Amazon arrived under our wing but aftrer about 1 houe we climbed and headed NORTH. At 1420 we landed in BOA VISTA.During our flight the captain was unable to tell us what was going on as the in cabin PA had failed.The cabin crew did not know where we were.Inomimg flights had preference sowe had to wait for 4 HOURS. The first 2 hours were onboard , we were not allowed off. The doors were oppened , it was 91 degrees F outside. After 2 hours we were allowed out into the terminal, here we could buy local hamburghers as the plane had no food left.We were airbourne at 1830 for a 1 hour flight to Manaus We eventually arrived at 1945, luggage collection was chaotic.Brazilian officials allowed Princess personnel to check us in with minimal formalities.On the ship we were no given any sustance, only told the buffet was still open.

During the flight .the OMNI flight mechanic told us the reason for the delay was (a) the crew had no flying time left and requirean 8 hour break (b) the cabin crew had no Brazillian visas. one abject upcock from day one.

On board we were told that as a sop to the delayed passengers. Scarborough would be missed out and we would spend WEDNESDAY in MANAUS, plus ALL passengers would receive $250 obc.Delayed passengers would get a pro rata return of their criuse fare from their TA.

Personally I would be very laothed to travel with Princess ever again evwen if we are Platinum Captains Circle members.

 

....so you are delayed by the airline.......and you are mad at Princess.......Princess didn't fly you........Omni did....:rolleyes:

[woodofpine]

....so you are delayed by the airline.......and you are mad at Princess.......Princess didn't fly you........Omni did....:rolleyes:

 

I'm very sypathetic to the OP and I understand the retort; HOWEVER, in getting to exotic destinations for a cruise embarkation it's not as if there is the same ease or ability to 'make your own arrangements' like a cruise from Lauderdale, Southhampton, Copenhagen, or even Auckland. Cruise lines that book and charter air invariably live with the results of being booking agent.

 

I hope OP can overcome the difficult start and enjoy the main event - the cruise - which ultimately is the product over which the line has real qualitative control.

[jlp20]

. all to the detriment of Princess Cruises and OMNI airlines....After 2 hours awaiting for luggage we then coralled to await Princess allocation of Hotels for the night all 380 of us........On board we were told that as a sop to the delayed passengers. Scarborough would be missed out and we would spend WEDNESDAY in MANAUS, plus ALL passengers would receive $250 obc......Personally I would be very laothed to travel with Princess ever again evwen if we are Platinum Captains Circle members.

 

 

Sorry, but I don’t follow your complaint. Did you pay Princess for airline travel? Did Princess acknowledge a problem and allow you $250 OBC? How is Princess to blame for WHATEVER the airline did?

[Toto2Kansas]

What a way to start a cruise, sorry to hear about your airline problems.

 

That has happened to us in the past also. But I have to say, I don't blame Princess for the airline mishap. Even if they supplied the airline tickets, they honest have no control over the airlines, they are just selling you the flights whether it be a charter or commercial as they do not own the airline but are just the middle man. We have also ran into that problem about the flight crew flying over their limit and had to wait hours for another flight crew, but again, that wasn't Princess' fault. When this has happened, they usually run out of food, happened to us also. Again, hard to blame Princess for this but the airline is at fault. Glad to hear they got you there, that is the best news.

 

Hopefully your cruise will go smoother than your flights there were. Enjoy!

[Meg]

I am so sorry to hear of what happened to you with Omni Air. We did the trip before you and were fortunate to have been assigned the 1:50 am flight down to Manaus from Miami on Miami Air, which we found to be just fine. We have heard that Omni has been having problems and were more than thrilled to fly with Miami Air even at the difficult time of 2 in the morning! Lucky for you though and I think that this is a pretty terrific solution.... Princess gave you an extra day in the fabulous Manaus and skipped Scarborough. I think that was a great resolution and if you had missed the opportunity to have a full day in the Amazon, then I would have been totally sympathetic with your anger towards the cruiseline. The cruise line did deliver what they promised..... time in the Amazon. Unfortunately, they can't control the planes too.

[gatour]

I did a google on Omni Airlines and it looks to be a charter operation. Based on the OP's original post it seemed that Princess chartered them to take passengers from Miami to Brazil. My belief is that Princess has a little more responsibility in regards to this as opposed to someone who took Princess air on a normally scheduled airline from someplace in the US to another location in the US.

 

Now is $250 OBC adequate compensation, I am not sure, but the OP should definitely write to Princess expressing their overall displeasure.

[Toto2Kansas]

I think your right, those from the UK usually are placed on charters and they buy it as a packaged deal, flight plus cruise.

 

I fell that is probably why they offered the $250 credit for those affected by this. Even though a charter flight, Princess still has no control over delayed or late arrival for flights. I know, they made the arrangements, but that is also why they offered the compensation.

 

Another one of those times when if writing makes you feel better, write them a letter and complain, but after offering the compensation, my doubt is the complaint will fall on deaf ears. IMHO!

[Strawberry]

We are U.S. citizens and were looking at a Princess cruise that included the Amazon. If we had booked it with Princess air, from Miami to Manaus we would have been on a charter flight.

[Toto2Kansas]

We are U.S. citizens and were looking at a Princess cruise that included the Amazon. If we had booked it with Princess air, from Miami to Manaus we would have been on a charter flight.

 

Did you purchase it like they do in the UK as a package deal? Or was it priced as cruise and airfare seperately? I could be mistaken here, but I think in the UK they buy it as one package. Please someone correct me if that isn't how it is normally done. Thanks!

[rick-mke]

My daughter and son-in-law are on this cruise. An overnight stay in Fort Lauderdale and the charter flight on Omni down to Manaus from Miami were part of the cruise. The delay of the flight was due to a problem with the aircraft. After the aircraft was repaired the aircrew could not complete the flight within the time alloted per FAA rules. Omni had no backup crew available. Princess obtained rooms at the Sheraton. The dinner voucher error was Sheratons. My daughter said the Princess reps. were extremely upset that only $15.00 was allocated as they supposedly had an agreement with Sheraton to compensate the passengers for the entire cost of the meal. As for breakfast the next morning, that could have been handled better. They did give each passenger $250 ob and said they would receive a rebate for one day of the cruise. I,m unclear why a flight that was supposed to take 4hrs and 30 minutes took 10hrs. It was a nightmare for the passengers. I think the fault lies with Omni and Sheraton. According to my daughter Princess did the best they could.

[BJS]

There are very few airlines that fly into or out of Manaus and Princess charters planes just so people can take this cruise. All of their air arrangements include these charter flights. Some people have searched to make their own arrangements but unless they are staying extra days in Manaus they usually come back to Princess air not only for the price but also for the schedule.

 

To the OP - what a night mare. I'm so sorry to hear this and do hope you are now having a wonderful cruise.

 

I sure hope Princess evaluates OMNI airlines performance and if they continue to use OMNI that this was a one time problem. We will be using Princess and their charter flight back from Manaus after sailing from Athens in November.

 

We have chosen Princess air and done a deviation for our flights to Athens but Princess does not have any option to choose any flights returning from Manaus.

 

.

[lovelyladi]

We had a horrible experience with Omni Air (which I believe is partly owned by Princess or it's parent company) flying to Tahiti. we have never used cruise air from any cruise line again. We always book our own air and never charter airlines.

[Toto2Kansas]

We had a horrible experience with Omni Air (which I believe is partly owned by Princess or it's parent company) flying to Tahiti. we have never used cruise air from any cruise line again. We always book our own air and never charter airlines.

 

OMG, I remember the horror stories that came back with those that flew Omni to Tahiti. What a nitemare. It took me a few minutes to put two and two together as I thought Princess stopped using Omni. Guess that was only for the flights to Tahiti, unfortunately.

[cactusrose]

We had a horrible experience with Omni Air (which I believe is partly owned by Princess or it's parent company) flying to Tahiti. we have never used cruise air from any cruise line again. We always book our own air and never charter airlines.

 

Doesn't appear that Princess has any ownership, they just contract like many others. Here's Omni's profile from Yahoo.

 

The carrier provides passenger transportation services for customers such as tour operators, cruise lines (Princess), sports teams, the US government (including the Department of Defense), and other airlines. Omni Air International's fleet includes Boeing 757s and DC10s. Along with passengers, the company transports cargo, primarily as a contractor for companies such as DHL, FedEx, UPS, and the US Postal Service. Omni Air International was founded in 1983 as an executive transport and air ambulance service.

[BJS]

OMG, I remember the horror stories that came back with those that flew Omni to Tahiti. What a nitemare. It took me a few minutes to put two and two together as I thought Princess stopped using Omni. Guess that was only for the flights to Tahiti, unfortunately.

Apparently in 2007 Princess used both World Airways and Omni. Read posts on what a good flight they had on Omni.

 

.

[ericosmith]

Omni runs cattle cars, that they call airplanes. Are they still flying DC10s? You get what you pay for when you charter. When you go for the low cost provider, you get the low cost performance.

[lovelyladi]

When we flew in 2002 it was explained to us (when we complained bitterly)that there was some sort of ownership overlap with Princess or P&O and Omni. One would need to check the corporation filings and/or share ownerships in the state or country where the corporation is registered to truely determine ownership. The relationship may or may not exist today.

[caribill]

When we did Manaus to FLL two years ago, there was no more room on the charter when we booked the cruise, so Princess set up to fly us overnight commercial from Miami to Sao Paulo (arriving 5 AM), wait 5 hours, and then fly to Manaus.

 

We opted instead to do a B2B by first taking the cruise from FLL to Manaus. Twelve days on a cruise ship beat 24 hours of travel via plane. And, we arrived in Manaus very rested.

 

We were fortunate that we had the time to do this.

[kathe]

After our Feb.Royal cruise up the Amazon we stayed 4 days at the Hotel Tropical and flew back on Copa Airlines which was fantastic.The food was great and we were early arriving in Miami.We were lucky to get 1st class seats for a very reasonable amount.The extra time spent in Manus turned out to be the highlight of our trip. Kathe

[BobTroll]

I was on the delayed Omni flight to Hell.

 

My wife and I booked our cruise as a complete package from the UK - where the Princess Cruises holds an Air Travel Organiser's licence (ATOL). Under UK law, the licence holder is responsible for all aspects of the package and cannot disclaim responsibility if any aspect of the package goes wrong. The only possible exception to this rule is if the problem was unavoidable and caused by circumstances totally outside the control of the organiser, hoteliers, airlines and other contractors (such as war, government intervention, strikes and similar industrial action, lightning, hurricane, tropical storm, etc.)

 

It follows that under UK law, Princess were responsible for chartering an aircraft from a reputable company and equally responsible for ensuring that the aircraft was airworthy. No ifs - no buts. Consequently, passengers who purchased their cruise package in the UK might be in a stronger position than passengers from other countries. I have no idea whether USA law contains any similar provisions (possibly not?).

 

Turning to Omni Air, I travelled on a Princess charter from Tahiti to LA several years ago. On that occasion, a panel from the cabin ceiling was very loose and might have caused serious injury, if it had hit a passenger. I was not impressed by the aircraft on that occasion.

 

I have researched details of the DC-10 that caused so many problems during the flight from Miami to Manaus. Firstly, it had two previous owners - Lufthansa and Condor (which is a Lufthansa charter subsidiary). Its maiden flight occurred in late-1980, so the plane is 27-years old.

 

A Princess "Exotic Cruise" is a premium product and Princess Cruises were tempting fate, by chartering such an aged troop carrier. This episode has cost Carnival Group a lot of money - and I hope they have learned their lesson.

 

Turning to the compensation aspects:

 

Passengers on the cruise received $250 on-board credit - to compensate for the disruption to the schedule. $250 was paid to everybody - and was not restricted to passengers on the charter flight.

 

Passengers from the delayed charter flight received an additional on-board credit of one-fourteenth of the original fare - which was intended to compensate for the fact that the duration of their cruise vacation was reduced to 13-days only - instead of 14-days. For UK passengers, Princess converted the sterling fare into US dollars, using an excellent wholesale exchange rate. Surprisingly, Princess based this refund upon the price of the complete flight-inclusive package (less UK departure tax of £20 per person), and not just the cruise element.

 

I am not a lawyer, so I don't know whether the one-fourteenth refund of the cruise fare was realistic compensation for the loss of one day from an 14-day exotic cruise. However, Carnival Corporation do have access to top lawyers and I have a gut feeling that if the matter went to court, it might be difficult to obtain an improved offer.

 

However, Princess have not yet offered any additional payment for discomfort, suffering or loss of enjoyment. I certainly don't need to remind any person who travelled on this charter flight that conditions were appalling. Several passengers became unwell and it certainly took several days before I recovered from the trauma.

 

It might be worth pursuing additional compensation for these aspects.

[ecruise]

I was on the delayed Omni flight to Hell.

 

My wife and I booked our cruise as a complete package from the UK - where the Princess Cruises holds an Air Travel Organiser's licence (ATOL). Under UK law, the licence holder is responsible for all aspects of the package and cannot disclaim responsibility if any aspect of the package goes wrong. The only possible exception to this rule is if the problem was unavoidable and caused by circumstances totally outside the control of the organiser, hoteliers, airlines and other contractors (such as war, government intervention, strikes and similar industrial action, lightning, hurricane, tropical storm, etc.)

 

It follows that under UK law, Princess were responsible for chartering an aircraft from a reputable company and equally responsible for ensuring that the aircraft was airworthy. No ifs - no buts. Consequently, passengers who purchased their cruise package in the UK might be in a stronger position than passengers from other countries. I have no idea whether USA law contains any similar provisions (possibly not?).

 

Turning to Omni Air, I travelled on a Princess charter from Tahiti to LA several years ago. On that occasion, a panel from the cabin ceiling was very loose and might have caused serious injury, if it had hit a passenger. I was not impressed by the aircraft on that occasion.

 

I have researched details of the DC-10 that caused so many problems during the flight from Miami to Manaus. Firstly, it had two previous owners - Lufthansa and Condor (which is a Lufthansa charter subsidiary). Its maiden flight occurred in late-1980, so the plane is 27-years old.

 

A Princess "Exotic Cruise" is a premium product and Princess Cruises were tempting fate, by chartering such an aged troop carrier. This episode has cost Carnival Group a lot of money - and I hope they have learned their lesson.

 

Turning to the compensation aspects:

 

Passengers on the cruise received $250 on-board credit - to compensate for the disruption to the schedule. $250 was paid to everybody - and was not restricted to passengers on the charter flight.

 

Passengers from the delayed charter flight received an additional on-board credit of one-fourteenth of the original fare - which was intended to compensate for the fact that the duration of their cruise vacation was reduced to 13-days only - instead of 14-days. For UK passengers, Princess converted the sterling fare into US dollars, using an excellent wholesale exchange rate. Surprisingly, Princess based this refund upon the price of the complete flight-inclusive package (less UK departure tax of £20 per person), and not just the cruise element.

 

I am not a lawyer, so I don't know whether the one-fourteenth refund of the cruise fare was realistic compensation for the loss of one day from an 14-day exotic cruise. However, Carnival Corporation do have access to top lawyers and I have a gut feeling that if the matter went to court, it might be difficult to obtain an improved offer.

 

However, Princess have not yet offered any additional payment for discomfort, suffering or loss of enjoyment. I certainly don't need to remind any person who travelled on this charter flight that conditions were appalling. Several passengers became unwell and it certainly took several days before I recovered from the trauma.

 

It might be worth pursuing additional compensation for these aspects.[/

 

 

My husband and I were also on the plane ride from hell. I agree with you that it was disappointing that we missed a day. I also agree with you that the plane was uncomfortable and the trip was a long one. I also think that Princess is not at fault here and they did there best to accommmodate all of us. It is in my opinion that they didn't have to do a thing for any of us. It is in there contract. Yet how they did it I will never understand, finding rooms and buses for all of us in such a short time. It was commendable. They also covered any extra costs that were incured for dinner at the hotel. I went out for dinner paid our own and don't expect anything else from Princess cruises. We will most definitely be sailing with Princess in the near future.

[britsbest]

You will find that posting on here merely serves to bring out the Princess cheer leaders who evidently know little or nothing about UK and ABTA etc.

 

I would hazzard a guess that Princess did some research into what to offer and an improved deal would be hard to obtain.

 

I recommend settling down and enjoying the rest of your hard earned holiday.